In the tunnel's dark, a thought he didn't want hardened anyway: 'What exactly do you study, Lady Marwen? And for whom?'
Evelisse stepped closer, letting the illusion drag shadow after her like a cape. "You say it learns. You say it feeds. What starves it?"
The tall one answered quick, eager to survive. "Starve the fear. Break the quiet. Speak the names of your beloved aloud until they are heavy in the air. It hates names said with tenderness. It gutters when love is called like a tower bell. And light—always light. Not spells. Honest light."
"Honest," she repeated softly. Something in her chest ached. 'Marcus sings to his lilies… honest light in a gentle boy. That is exactly what they would seek to spoil.'
